Device for wiring honeycomb frames



p 9, 1932- A. E. WOLKOW DEVICE FOR WIRING HONEYCOMB FRAMES Filed April 9. 1931 2 $heets5heet 1 7i 5. WUUFU/V.

Hiya/5 Sept. 20, 1932. WOLKOW 1,878,746

DEVICE FOR WIRING HONEYCOMB FRAMES Filed April 9, 1931 2. sheets-sheet 2 n 1 i N E 1| 5 m a w w \\'.E a R Patented Sept. 20, 1932 omrso STATES AUGUST E. WOLKOW, OF HARTFORD, WISCONSIN DEVICE FOR WIRING Application filed. .April 9,

This invention relates to a new and improved device for wiring honey comb frames. One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved device for wiring honey comb frames for supporting the comb in the frame when loaded with'honey and, at the same time, provide suitable means for supporting a new comb in the frame so that when the same is drawn by the bees, it will be evenly distributed throughout the frame, so as to distribute the weight of the honey placed within the cells of the comb, whereby the weight of the filled comb will be supported by the wires.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved device for wiring honey comb frames in a very convenient and efiicientmanner, so that the wires are securely retained in a taut position to prevent any sagging or displacement of the wires while the comb is being worked upon by the bees and is so secured to the frame asto prevent any displacement of the wires aft- 7 er the comb has been filled.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and shown 0 in the accompanying drawings wherein:

' Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of my improved device;

Figure 2 is a side elevation with parts broken away and illustrated in cross section;

Figure 3 is a detailed section showing how the wire is crimped after being positioned within the hollow rivets carried by the end piece of the frame;

Figure 4 is a detailed section showing the manner of crimping the hollow rivets;

Figure 5 is a top plan view; Figure 6 is a detailed section on the line $6 of Figure 1; and, Figure 7 is a side elevation of a finished frame, with parts broken away and illustrated in cross section.

The device used for wiring the frames comprises an elongated base member 1 having 7 guard flanges 2 attached to opposite sides thereof at one end. Slidably mounted upon HONEYC'OMB FRAMES 1931. Serial No. 528,765.

the base member 1 between the guard flanges is a movable platform 8, carrying spaced brackets 4 which support a transverse shaft 5 upon which are mounted a plurality of spools 6, containing comparatively fine wire, 55 as illustrated.

At the inner end of the platform 3 thereis a transverse bar 7 and extending through the bar 7 and the platform 3 is a guide tube 8 in which is slidably mounted a locking pin 9 having at its upper end aknob 10 which can be grasped for raising the spring-pressed pin 9 within the tube. Fitted within the upper surface ofthe base member is a plate 11 having an aperture adapted to be aligned with an aperture in the base for receiving the lower end of the spring-pressed pin 9 to lock the platform 3 against movement.

Arranged transversely of the base 1 are the spaced ribs 12 and positioned between the two innermost ribs 12 is an angular metal crimping plate 13, the vertical portion of which is provided with teeth 14 while the horizontal portion is provided with slots 15 to receive fastening bolts 16;

Mounted upon the horizontal portion of the member 18 are the upright guide members 17. The vertical portion of themember 13 is spaced from a U-shaped frame 18 the ends of which are passed through the base 1 and have nuts 19 threaded thereon against a wear-plate 20. The bolts 16 which are used for retaining the, member 13 in adjusted position also pass through the plate 20 and have nuts 16' on the lower end for securely '85 tightening these bolts.

Attention is also directed to the fact that the vertical portion of the angular plate 13 is spaced from the side portions of the U- shaped member 18 to receive the end member 61' of the frame section and member 13 can be adjusted relative to the U-shaped member 18 so that when these frame members a are placed in position they will fit snugly between members 13 and 18.

At one end of the base 1, a second angular member 13 is arranged and is provided with slots 15 receiving bolts 16a for adjustably retaining the angular member 13 against movement. Spaced outwardlyfrom the member 13 is a U-shaped member 18 mounted on the base in the same manner as the U-shaped member 18 and properly spaced from the vertical portion of member 13 to receive there between the other end piece of a frame indicated at a. i

The vertical portion of the angular member 13 isprovided with teeth in the same manner as member 13 and extending upwardly from the horizontal portion of the a p gular member 13 are the spaced "guides 1 Supported upon the transverse ribs 12 and extending between the two vertical portions of the angular plates 13 and'13 are thesplit guidetubes 21. These guide tubes 21 carry lateral projecting ears 22 adjustably mounted upon the ribs 12 and provided with slots 23 to receive the retaining screws 24, whereby the guide tubes 21 may be laterally adjust ecl on ribs '12 in order to align the same with the tubular rivets 25 carried by the end pieces a. v

It will be apparent that in wiring the frames, any number of wires be used. and it is, therefore, essential that the proper number of hollow rivets. be placed within the end pieces a for the number of wires to be used. p

In the present instance, I have illustrated the use of three hollow rivets applied to each end member and, therefore, it is essential that the guide members 21 be properly aligned with these rivets for receiving the wires.

In order to guide the fine wireused from the spools 6, I provide a plurality of small tubularguide members 26, and these members 26 have one' end arra nged between the cross piece 7 and the movable platform 3, as shown in Figure 1, and they are clamped in place by securely fastening the cross members to platform 3. This is done through the medium of screws 27. It will be noted from the showing in Figures 1 and 5, that upon the inside of the U-shaped member 18, a rib 12' is located and this rib carries short tubular guide members 28 having lateral slotted cars 22, whereby screws 24 can be used for retaining the short tubes 28 in various adjusted position-s laterally of the rib 12'.

The inner endsof the tubes 26 are normal- 1y mounted in the guides 28 and these guides are adjusted to be positioned in alignment with the hollow rivets 25 of the end frame a, the tubes 26 can be readily passed through the rivets in the end member a which is located innermost of the platform and then be guided in the inner ends of the guide members 21.

In wiring the frames,,the wire is first fed off from the spool 6 through looped guides :29 and thenbeneatha tension bar 30. It will benoted from the showing in Figure 1, that the wires pass beneath the tension bar 30 and tions over the plate 31.

over a base plate 31 so that the wires are positioned between two opposed clamping faces. Extending upwardly through the base plate 31 are the spaced bolts 32, the heads of which are positioned beneath the plate 31, while nuts 33 are engaged with the upper threaded ends thereof. Mounted upon the bolts and positioned between the nuts 33 and the tension bar 30 are the coil springs 34:, which normally urge the bar 30 downwardly toward the base plate 31, to retard the movement of the wires as they pass beneath the bar-3O and the plate 31. After the wires have beenpassed, beneath the bar 30 they are then passed over a plate 31' and beneath a feeding plate 35. This feeding plate 35 is mounted for lateral movement relative to plate 31 for moving the wires inboth direc- The plate 35 is actuated by means of a cylinder 36. Connected to the cylinder 36 is a U-shaped actuating yoke 37 and cooperating with the yoke 37 is a second movable yoke 38, the ends of which are pivotally mounted in suitable recesses 39 formed in the movable platform 3. 7 It will be noted that the cross portion of the U-shaped yoke 38 is provided withspaced openings through which the side portions of yoke :37 pass, so that the bar portion of yoke'37 is spaced upwardly from the cross portion of yoke 38. I

The lower ends of the side portions of the yoke 37 are threaded and adjustably mounted thereon are the tension nuts 4 0 and arranged between the nuts 40- and a cross bar of yoke 38 are the'tension springs 41 which vnormally urge the cylinder 36 toward the actuating plate 35vfor gripping the wires to move the same upon lateral movement of the yokes 37 and 38. The lower face of'the actuating plate 35 is preferably roughened or corrugated so that the wires which pass over the plate 31' will be securely engaged for moving them in either direction.

In using the device for wiring frames, such as illustrated in Figure 7, attention is directed to the fact that the end pieces mof the frame have the wires appliedthereto' before the frame is made up and it will benoted that the two end members a can be wired and then arranged in close proximity to each other with the .wires wound around thesame and the top and bottom pieces Z2 and 0 of the frame can be arranged with the end pieces so as to form a comparatively small bundle or package for shipping purposes.

In Figure 1, it will'be noted {that the end pieces a to which the hollow rivets have been attached are in-positi0n to bewired. The :platform3 is locked in its inoperative position and the rivets 25 havebeen linedup with the guide tubes 26, The spring-pressed pin .9 is now drawn upwardly for disengaging the same from the plate 11.

The platform 3 islthen moved forwardly ly crimping the wire which with the tubes 26 passing through the rivets in the first end member and passing on through the guides 21 until the inner ends of the tubes 26 are positioned directly opposite the hollow rivets 25 in the outermost end member a. Prior to moving the platform 3 forwardly, the yokes 37 and 38 are moved to the full line position shown in Figure 2. Therefore, after the platform 3 has been moved inwardly until the inner ends of the guide members 26 are positioned adjacent the rivets in the second end member a, the yokes 37 and 38 are then moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 2 for feeding wires into the hollow rivets in the outer end member.

After the ends of the wires have been fed in the rivets in the outer end member a, a crimping bar 42 is then arranged over the toothed upper edge of the vertical portion of the angular member .13, said crimping bar being provided with teeth 42', as shown in Figure 3, cooperating with the teeth 14 for crimping the inwardly extending end of each of the hollow rivets 25.

In order to assure a positive crimping of these hollow rivets, a hand lever 43 has its offset end 44engaged beneath the cross portionof the U-shaped member 18', with a part of the offset portion engaging the upper edge of the crimping bar 42, as shown in Figure 2. By pushing downwardly on the hand lever 43, thehollow rivets will be crimped to the positions shown in Figure 4, simultaneoushas been passed into the rivets, as clearly illustratedin Figure 3.

After the wires have beencrimped in the outermost, end member, the platform 3 is then moved outwardly of the base member 1: until it is .returned toits normal position .shownin Figure 1. Then by moving the yoke members 37 and 38 from the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 2 to the full K line position, the wires will be drawn taut and the crimping bar is then placed between the innermost end member a and the guide membersl'? for crimping the rivets in the same manner as previously described. After the rivets in the innermost end member have been crimped, the wires can be cut off close to the outer face of the innermost end member a and the two end members then removed with the wires properly positioned between the same.

As a general rule, the majority of the frames illustratedin Figure 7 are of the same length. However, if the lengths should vary, the angular members 13 and 13 can be readily adjusted uponthe base platform 1 for increasing or decreasing the space between the two end members a. Attention is also directed to the-fact that while I have shown and described the use of only three strands of wire for application to a frame tallic of this character, it will be apparent that the device can be increased in width and addi-* wiring a honey comb frame and the use of material which will not rust or corrode and which will permit the comb tobe-readily removed whenever desired. The hollow rivets are preferably of a line grade of polished copper, while the wire usedis of a very fine steel. 1 i

The foundation for the comb can be readily applied to the frame by heating the wires by electricity or the like, so that they will embed themselves in the foundation. There fore, when the foundation is worked upon by the bees, the wires will be thoroughly embedded in the central portion of the honey comb. In the bee keeping art, the wired frames have been found to be far superior to the ordinary frame and it is, therefore, believed that with the use of the device, these frames can be quickly and easily wired at a very small cost, and the crimping of the rivets with the wires extending therein provides means whereby the wires will be securely held in a taut position when the frame is set up ready for use, as shown in Figure 7. From the foregoing description it will be seen that the machine is capable of building up a comb frame by a new process or method, which consists in first chucking and securing the-end pieces of the frame, and thereafter fitting to said pieces a plurality of independent strands of wire, and securingthe ends of said wire strands to the frame, independently. of each other, the means ofsecuring being preferably in the form vof me thimbles which may be crimped into engagement with the strand ends. While I have shown and described thepreferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent from the foregoing that slight changes maybe made in the construction when putting the invention into practice without departingfrom the spirit of the same or the scope of the claims. V

I claim:

1. A device of the character described in,- cluding a base, a movable platform mounted thereon, spaced guide tubes carried by the platform, channel guides carried by thebase and aligned withthe tubes, wires movable through saidtubes and means for imparting longitudinal movement to said wires.

2. Adevice of the character described including a base, a movable platform carried thereby, guide tubes carried by the platform, wires movable through said tubes, and means for imparting longitudinal movement to said wires. V i

3. A device of the character described including a base, a movable platform. carried thereb spaced guide tubes carried by the drawing the wires tightly between said transverse members.

I '5. Ardevice of the character described including a base, a movable platform mounted thereon, spaced guide tubes-carried by the platform, wires movablethrough said tubes, spaced transverse members mounted on the base having opemngstoreceive said wires,

means-for imparting movement to said wires to position them within said openings and drawing the wires tightly between said transverse members, and yieldable means for tensioning said wires.

6. A device of the character described including a base, a movable platform thereon, spacedv guide tubes carried by the platform, channel guides carried by the base and aligned withthe tubes, transverse members at each end of the channel guides, wires movable through said tubes, means for imparting longitudinal movement to said wires andsecuring the wires to said transversemembers. 7. A device ofthe characterdescribed including .a base, a movable platform mounted thereon, spaced guide tubes carried by the platform,'wires movable through said tubes, channel guides carried by the "base and aligned with the tubes, transverse members at the ends of the channel guides, saidplatform being manually movablerto move the tubes through the channels, meansfor securing oneendof the wires to one of the transverse members, and means for tightening the ,wires ;:and connecting the other ends to the other transverse member.

8. A device ofthe characterzdescribed including a base, a movable platform mounted thereon, spaced guide tubes carried by the platform, wires movable through said tubes, channel guides carried by the base and aligned with the tubes, means for adjustably mounting the tubesand channel guides rela-v tive tothe base, and means for imparting longitudinal movement to the wires.

9. A device of the character described including a base, amovable platform mounted thereon, spaced guide tubes carried by the platform, wires movable through said tubes, channel guides carried by the base and alignedvwith the tubes, means for adjustably mountingthe tubes andchanneliguides relativeto thebase, means for imparting longibars,

tudinalmovement to thewires,and means for applying a tension to said-wires. v

10. A frame includingend members,- tubular rivets carriedthereby,longitudinal wires having their'ends and crimped portions formed in-therivets and correspondingly formed in the endso'f the wires for retaining sa'd wires against movement relative to said 'end' members.

11. In a device; for Wiring honeycomb frames, the combination, a longitudinallyextending base,a pair of transversely extending rigid ,.bars secured to the-base, a honey comb frame including transverse end'walls removablyengaging said bars,-rivets secured to said end walls and engaging the upper edges of the bars,.a movable platformslidably mounted on thebase towardand; away from the bars, guide tubes movable with the platformthrough the rivets, means for advancing wire through the guides, and means including the bars for crimping the rivets about the wires. 7

12. In a device for. wiring honeycomb frames,alongitudinallyextendingsupporting base, a pair of transverselylextending cross bars secured to the base arranged in spaced parallel relation adjacent to oneendof the base, a honeycomb frame including end walls removably engaging the outer faces of. the end inwardly directedrivets carried by the end walls projecting beyond the inner faces thereof and engaging the top edges of the cross bars, a platform slidably mounte'dton the base movable toward and away from' the cross bars, tubular guides movable withzthe base and through said rivets, spools ofwire rotatably mounted on the movable platform in rear of the tubular guides, means: for advancing the wire from the. spools throughthe tubular guides, means including the .cross bars for crimping the rivets .about the'wire s, and means forlocking the platform on the ase;

13. Ina device for wiring honeycomb frames, the combination, a longitudinally extending base, a pair of spaced parallel transversely extending cross bars rigidly secured to the base, crimping teeth' form-edronthe upper. edges of the cross bars at spaced points,"a honeycomb frame including end walls "removably fitted againstthe outer'faces of the cross bars, hollow rivets carried by the end walls and resting upon the crimping teethcof the bars, a platform slidably mounted on the base toward and away from the bars, a plurality of guide tubes movable with the :plat form, means for feeding wire through the tubes, said tubes being of less diameter than the hollow rivets whereby the tubesand wire can be insertedthrough'the rivets upon movement of the platform-towardithe cross bars, transversely extending inverted ul-shaped frame bars secured to the base in spaced relation to the first mentioned transversely-exextending into the rivets,

tending bars, a crimping bar movable toward and away from the first mentioned transversely extending bars having teeth for engaging the rivets and an operating handle for engaging the crimping bar and under either one of the transversely extending frame members.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Hartford, in the county of Washington and State of Wisconsin.

AUGUST E. WOLKOW. 

